Who attends this forum?

Snark is absent, as in: does not exist. You don't seem to understand me, nor me you. Not that any of it is particularly important. I don't imagine we need worry about it. But in case we do...

"It was for me" is actually missing a comma, between the was and the for. Which, unsurprisingly, made you think it said "it was for me", which is what is said, had there been no context preceding it. I missed that comma because so many people ridicule my superb use of punctuation, which tells one what the words mean. I dropped the comma, and, behold, the meaning becomes ambiguous.

A generally boring middle classman living with the wage and lifestyle that it implies. Externally. Otherwise I'm a fairly vibrant character painfully dissatisfied with the aforementioned conditions and as such makes plenty of room for cultivating the inner self in addition to enough booze to keep this soul just enough feral and virile to avoid abandoning the wife and animals for a uncertain ans most likely fatal life as a "rambling man."

Haven't many people in this forum constantly expressed themselves as superior to others because of it?

Whether this sense of self-importance is OVER-inflated o not is a matter of actually being able to select better quality music. We may be trying really hard to choose quality music, and as far as the standard we think we follow this may be true, but what makes you so sure this is so? I know this is true for me. I know to a certain degree what I consider quality music is subject to my own subjective and skewed views. That's inevitable. So I see this as an ever-changing, ever-growing ability or opinion. I keep trying to learn more.

I think this little bit of arrogance is necessary to have a standard for quality in anything in a world where everybody is conformist and mediocre and you are trying to break out of it. It is arrogant because to some point you may be wrong, you just think you are choosing the correct thing. Many times, I'm sure this is the case.

And that's fine, if you don't want to share anything about yourself and discuss anything related here that's your choice, this is not what I was referring to. Do note,however, that I was not asking for extremely specific things, something like what Humanacide answered was at most what I was expecting.

I don't intend to make a living out of it. It's a passion. Feel free to make any commentary about it.

Also english is not my first language.

Merci!Every time I hear Black Metal of this type, one question comes to my mind:How much of what I hear here is on purpose being imitated from classic bands and how much of it is just the result of the musician trying to look for a sound he wants to express but is not exactly something he's heard before?

No offense intended. It is truly a gift you have, I would say. A gift, as you are blessed to be born with such fortitude and blessed to be in such a position that you can apply it to increase order in a system.

I've only spent about 2 months in educational institutions all of my life. I never attended a preschool, middle school, or high school. Still I managed to get a state-recognized diploma. Then I attended graphic design courses for 2 months before realizing that all I was learning was how to trick stupid people.

I've been drawing and illsutrating for 20 years, everything from landscapes to animals and plants to architecture, schematics, cartoons etc. I am good at it and always believed the idiot adults who told me I could make a good career out of that "talent". But it's not talent, it's love, and love is not a business model.

I've been playing the 6-string guitar for 10 years now, in lots of bands (faggy-core, then punk, then hardcore, then experimental rock and jazz, now single-or-double guitar compositions and death metal), recently (last year) started playing 5-string bass for a cover band for extra cash, now am more badass on bass than guitar.

Started teaching myself about music theory and composition about two years ago to learn scales and modes and better my improvisation.

Basically seft-taught all the way through in temrs of artistic ability.

As for work; I basically do whatever people will pay me for. I've been a "salesman" for the last 6 years but mostly I stick to the technical in-shop work and managing service schedules, etc. It's a good job because I have a lot of time to read books or work on illustrations. I hate convincing people that they need to buy things to be happy so I'm a terrible salesman. I really have no other skills except for basic computer knowledge (which is above the average, I've found) and I can lay tile, do plumbing work, some carpentry, little experience with concrete, and can at least change the oil and tires and fuses on my car. I can also cook just about anything.

A survivor with the kind of independence I'd like to acquire someday.I remember you are an illustrator, I presume this is your main interest. (I still remember your post asking for themes, for practice I think? I'm still thinking about that one)So, musically, your interests are more in the direction of improvisation? Do you think this also reflects your drawing/brushing style? More like improvised sketches or spontaneous bursts controlled, planned and focus in a particular direction?

No not at all fenrir, I work the opposite way. I rarely ever play improvisationally on my guitar or keyboard, and when I do it's usually when stoned and jamming with musician friends who don't like metal, or I'm just trying to brainstorm new riff patterns. I always have some section of music composed in my head before I sit down to "jam something out".

When I work on an illustration, the same thinking cycle takes over. I am always putting all my effort into copying onto paper exactly what I see in my head. I cannot just sit at a paper and draw something interesting ex nihilo, though I have experimented with my own version of "automatic writing", which I've cleverly named "automatic drawing"... And it is what it sounds like. This just ends up as nonsense scribbles but my imagination always manages to pick some appealing shape or pattern and might give me an idea for whatever I'm trying to visualize. I also like to draw machines, fighter jets, sports cars, robots and extremely nerdy stuff like that, ever since I picked up a pencil, never grown out of it. Obviously (or not) I watched anime as a kid but thankfully just used it to fuel my drive to draw and didn't stick with it.

I also like to copy other national styles of art, like ancient Egyptian wall paintings, Japanese scrolls of battle scenes and landscapes, and use them in my own context. One example is doing a (really short) graphic novel in the style of Egyptian wall paintings. It was too weird to show many people.

That's more than you need probably, but eh, it's a get-to-know-eachother thread.

Perhaps if we delve deep enough, there may be a bit of pride attached, but it is more about being true to metal music than being a special listener. There just isnt that much to be proud of here, this is not something inaccessible to people and this site exists to make it accessible. Stronger feelings would be a bit of frustration that you cant just explain to people how to listen to music after they have been trained to be passive and attend only to each moment rather than follow a progression (in simpler terms `hear riffs`).

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Haven't many people in this forum constantly expressed themselves as superior to others because of it?

No, at least I certainly hope not, but this is the impression a lot of people get. Why? Because you cant really be impersonal about something you care about and when you call the music people care about shit they FEEL (not think) its personal.

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We may be trying really hard to choose quality music, and as far as the standard we think we follow this may be true, but what makes you so sure this is so?

I dont particularly understand your thrust here. The music, when studied, has certain objective standards. These are all interpreted subjectively because we dont have any objective measure, but you can still approximate them. Furthermore, the ultimate measure of quality of music is, like any art, the potency of what it evokes. Some metal (and some other music) takes you, once deciphered, to heights unmatched.

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It is arrogant because to some point you may be wrong, you just think you are choosing the correct thing. Many times, I'm sure this is the case.

This is not right and is the result of a relativistic outlook and lack of conviction. It is a manifestation of your own doubt. What I listen to convinces me, if there is room for second thoughts then I have not been convinced. Why should you possibly be wrong? It honestly is not that big a deal man, keep exploring the best of metal and it will convince you itself. True, a lot of people have false convictions about a lot of things, but instead of seeing it generally just look at the specific situation of metal music. All of that noise about opinions yadda yadda is just the product of warring egos.

So it does not have to be arrogance, though it can easily be perceived as such. It is just conviction.

Edit: Let me ask you a question fenrir. For the best-of list of death metal and black metal on the DLA, can you appreciate why each and every album and band is on there? Ignore the order.

Actually a bit more leeway, not each and every one but pretty much all of them. If the answer is no, which ones do you not appreciate? If the answer is yes, high five bro.

I don't intend to make a living out of it. It's a passion. Feel free to make any commentary about it.

Also english is not my first language.

Merci!Every time I hear Black Metal of this type, one question comes to my mind:How much of what I hear here is on purpose being imitated from classic bands and how much of it is just the result of the musician trying to look for a sound he wants to express but is not exactly something he's heard before?

It's sure that classic bands (and not just metal bands) have influenced me both consciously and inconsciously, how much, I don't know but I'm more in search of expressing a ''feeling'' and there's not a million ways to convey it, so its hard to be totally innovative. And I never try to innovate just to be different.I use tradition both in music, in visual art, in general culture and in spirituality to nourish myself, to maintain a link with the past but I don't try to copy it ''word for word'' sot o speak. I try to make it thrive through me by injecting my vitality. If it's not good, it's just because I'm not at the top technically and spiritualy.

well, it,s hard for me to put it in words. I hope it's not to confusing.

Seems like a decent thread to me, and judging by its popularity among the apprentice Ubermensch, I am not alone in thinking this. They get to explore a little more about each other, as well as themselves. Is there a better use of free computer time for a bunch of smart guys? (Other than viewing porn, of course.)